Mr Cameron's hard sell for the Big Society

Monday 14 February 2011 12:48 BST

On a mission: The Prime Minster is determined to see his 'big society' idea become a reality

The Prime Minister is today attempting to sell the core of his own political philosophy to both the public and his own party. He launched the idea of the Big Society at last year's election, yet by no means all Conservatives are sure of what it means. And if they are uncertain, so is the public.

The idea has also come under intensified attack from the Opposition and the voluntary sector in recent weeks. Thus Mr Cameron's speech is a effort to translate a broad political concept into practical politics. It matters because this is a personal idea by which he sets much store: his conviction that there is such a thing as a society but that it is not the same as the state.

One element of the Big Society is readily understood - that communities are held together by people acting for the common good. Indeed, most people would probably say that volunteering is a good thing that we should do more of. From church cleaners to people who take the elderly out to tea, community activism is self-evidently worthwhile and worth encouraging.

The problem with the political idea of the Big Society is that it goes beyond this simple, easily grasped notion of volunteering. It is, in essence, about rolling back the state. For instance, the Government would like communities opposed to library closures to find ways to run their libraries themselves.

The idea goes further when it is applied to the provision of public services. Mr Cameron's expanded version of the Big Society could include his proposals to extend control over NHS provision to consortiums of GPs; in theory, devolving power from ministers to the grassroots, but for many people this is taking localism much too far. It could also see an expanded role for business in providing public services.

What Mr Cameron must do is convince the public that these separate strands make a coherent whole. He has made a start today by declaring that "this is all about giving people more power and control to improve their lives and communities". He must also tackle the idea that public sector cuts make the Big Society impracticable because local authorities are cutting back their funding to charities. A further reality is that much of the money available to the Big Society bank is provided by the banks on commercial terms; these projects will not come free.

Yet this is a bold idea, which deserves a fair hearing and a reasonable length of time in which to prove itself. Mr Cameron's efforts to convey what the Big Society is may prove difficult but it is at least worth a try.

Squatters go too far

The squatters who have taken over film director Guy Ritchie's large house in Fitzrovia do seem to have a redeeming sense of humour - they have set up a Really Free School to parody the Government's education initiative. But their incursion into a property that was by no means derelict but simply being repaired shows the extent to which this public menace is getting out of control. Local authorities should certainly be exploring ways of bringing genuinely empty buildings into public use. But the flip side is the need to take a stronger line with people who simply appropriate other people's houses.

CCTV menace

It is hard to square the Government's commitment to rolling back the surveillance state with cuts in funds to the watchdog that keeps police, councils and other bodies in check. The Office of the Surveillance Commissioner is one body whose funding should be protected.